A. Schulman to close Texas dispersions facility

AKRON (April 8)—A. Schulman Inc. will discontinue operations at its Orange, Texas, dispersions plant by Aug. 31. The 145,000-sq.-ft. facility employs 68 and primarily makes thermoplastic olefins and black concentrates for the U.S. automotive market. Closing the site is part of A. Schulman's effort to balance its production capacity with North American market demand. High resin prices, competitive pressure and weak demand for value-added engineered products are particularly impacting U.S. operations, the company said. The closure will reduce North American production capacity by about 12 percent to 440 million pounds from 500 million pounds, A. Schulman said. The move will save the Akron firm about $5 million annually beginning in 2004. It anticipates taking charges of around $6 million to $8 million in the third and fourth quarters for the action.